This Just Totally Irks Me

You know, I somehow expected this from Lebron James.

He already comes across as an arrogant, immature, pompous ass.

No wonder people are losing all respect for the guy!

But Dwayne Wade, too? I expected better from him...

Beautiful sportsmanship. Seriously...

This just exemplifies why I'm rooting hard for Dallas to win this thing.

One more win!

Two and a Half Months

Ok, so I stole that title from the CBS hit sitcom. So sue me!

But yes, it's been a while, so let's get right to it and recap from where we left off...

We knew the Lakers got the two-seed and drew New Orleans in first round.

We knew they lost Game 1 at home.

They won the series in six.

They drew Dallas in the next round, and got slammed.

Dallas swept them in four games, and it wasn't pretty.

Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom committed stupid, ugly fouls in Game 4.

Bynum has been suspended for start of next season.

Pau Gasol simply didn't show up at all in the playoffs.

Quest for Three-peat Part II came to a crashing end.

Dallas is now playing Miami for the NBA title.

Series is tied 2-2, and the series has been closer than that!

Dirk Nowitzki is in "beastmode"; Lebron James has been MIA.

Phil Jackson retired; Mike Brown (yes, really, that Mike Brown!) was hired to replace him.

So long, triangle offense.

Moving forward in the off-season, here are five things the Lakers need...

• Kobe healthy
• Younger and quicker point guard (Chris Paul or Deron Williams, anyone?)
• Shooters who can make their shots
• More consistent bench play
• Dwight Howard

All that said, everything is peachy in Laker-land.

In the meantime, we wait for a new champion, free agency and a possible league work-stoppage.

And So It Goes...

Kobe returns after a five-game injury absence in which the Lakers went 4-1 without him, only to look listless and effortless for two-plus games since. You kind of had to think this would happen. Their "main man" goes down and the other 11 guys suddenly feel a sense of urgency and play out of their minds for five games. Then the guy comes back and the rest of the team takes a deep breathe and a sigh of relief and they wait for something to happen through four games in which they looked dreadful in two-plus of them.

In any case, Kobe's back and hopefully the last 18 minutes of Sunday's win over Denver is a sign of things to come.

In the meantime, I stumbled across this little ditty of a rumor early this morning. In a nutshell, the rumor suggests Lebron James is quietly campaigning to join the Lakers in the off-season after his contract with Cleveland expires.

Now, as the article suggests, a lot would have to happen for this to ever come to fruition. The Lakers would have to shrug Kobe off to the sidelines and end all possible contract extension negotiations. Would they dare do that to the franchise's all-time leading scorer and the second most popular player in franchise history?

I just don't see it happening, but it does make for a fun little conversation.

Lebron Loses His Cool

This is another reason he has a lot of growing up to do. You never saw/see Magic, MJ or Kobe have temper-tantrums like this when they don't get a call go their way...

A Tale of Two Cities

The Lakers got off to a great start on Thursday night in Cleveland, but couldn't finish off the Cavs, and lost 93-87. The battle between Kobe and Lebron lived up to its expectations, as Kobe scored 31 on 12 of 31 shooting while Lebron netted 37 on 13 of 25 shooting.

The Lakers demise on the night was their inability to make shots down the stretch. It was a see-saw battle for much of the game, but in the end, the Cavs kept their cool, and the Lakers couldn't hit their shot from the field or the free throw line. The Lakers were also unable to match Cleveland's intensity throughout the game, something Kobe was a little concerned after the game.

“The mentality has to change a little bit playing against these teams,” Bryant said. “These teams are physical, tough-minded, hard-nosed types of teams. That’s not part of our DNA. We have to step up and match that and still play skillful basketball.”

Meanwhile, the Lakers got a good game for most of the night from the Knicks on Friday, but in the end, they were too much for New York, pulling out a 115-105 win.

Kobe continued to struggle with his shooting in large part because of the injured index finger on his shooting hand, hitting just eight of his 24 shots to lead six Lakers in double figures with 27 points. It was a ho-hum game for Kobe until he took over late in the game. Obviously, it was a far cry from his 61-point night there last season, but he made his points matter, especially down the stretch.

Pau Gasol added 20 while Andrew Bynum poured in 11 of his 19 in the fourth quarter. Lamar Odom had an unusual line, scoring just two points while grabbing a team-high 14 rebounds.

Next up on the road trip, north of the border on Sunday in Toronto. Oh Canada!

Lakers and Cavs, Kobe and Lebron...

The Rematch. Now.

Last Night's Win, and Pau Wins Award

The Lakers looked like they were going to roll all over the Magic early last night but wound up coughing up the lead in the third period, then had to battle back to edge the Magic, 98-92. Kobe had another horrible shooting night, shooting four-for-19 from the field for just 11 points, though he looked like he was feeling a lot better as far as his back went. Kobe will also have to wait another night to reach 25,000 points for his career.

The Lakers continue to plug along with the league's best record, now at 32-9 after last night's win. The begin an eight-game roadie on Thursday in Cleveland against Lebron James and the Cavs.

Meanwhile, Pau Gasol was named 2009 Sportsman of the Year by the L.A. Sports Council. During the year 2009, Gasol won an NBA title with the Lakers, was all-NBA third-team, won the European Championship while winning MVP honors, signed an extension with the Lakers through the 2013-2014 season, and kicked off his acting career with a cameo on CSI: Miami. Congratulations, Pau!

Merry New Year!

Well, it's been a while, and my apologies for being dark over the past couple of weeks.

During my absence from this here blog, the Lakers have continued to roll, having won five of the seven games they've played. They haven't played particularly well in most of those games, including two ugly losses, one to Lebron James and Cleveland on Christmas, and the other to Phoenix a few nights later. They have managed to find ways to win the others, including another Kobe buzzer-beater two nights ago against Sacramento.

Welcome to 2010. Some things will never change!

Moving forward, tonight, they host a red-hot Dallas Mavericks team that is second in the conference behind the Lakers at 23-10.

The question still remains about whether or not Ron Artest will play. As you know, he suffered a concussion after a Christmas Day fall in his home and hasn't played since, and the lack of his presence defensively is very noticeable. He did practice, somewhat, with team doctors and neurologists looking on, and will apparently be a game-time decision.

My Beef with King James

I haven't had a chance this past week to react to an incident that occured recently, but now that I have a few minutes, and I've actually had a chance to gather my thoughts on it, I figured now's as good a time as any to give you my opinion on it.

Everyone knows LeBron James is a great player. And, everyone knows he loves to have fun, especially on the court. But last Friday night against the Bulls, I think he went a little overboard.

Throughout the game that night, LeBron was seen dancing excessively on the sidelines and during the game, even while he was on the court. He was seen during one timeout making "funny" faces at the camera that just so happened to be right in his face. And as he put it later, he was just having fun.

Well, Bulls center Joakim Noah took exception to it. And frankly, so did I. Late in the game, while James was about to shoot a couple of free throws in front of the Bulls bench, Noah, sitting on the bench, started calling him out on it. After James made one of the free throws, he casually walked towards the Bulls bench to confront Noah, but before it got out of hand, it was broken up.

Still, even after the game, there was a lot of talk about it.

Now, we all know Noah had a knack for a doing a little excessive taunting back when he was at the University of Florida. And some might suggest he was being a bit hypocritical to call out James. But I think Noah was dead-on for calling him out in this case.

This is the NBA. It's a professional league where the players get paid. This is a different animal from the NCAA.

Some say that NBA players, no, check that, all professional athletes, are entertainers. While this might be true, the last thing that gives you the right to do is showboat, rub it in your opponents faces. It's one reason why I'm not a big NFL fan. Because the lack of maturity and respect from some players to their opponents disgusts me. (The end zone showboating after a score has gone far too overboard for my taste, and so has the showboating after making a great defensive play when they're trailing by three touchdowns late in a game.)

Back to LeBron James. As I said before, he's nothing short of a great player, a great athlete, a great talent. But one thing he does lack, in my opinion, is maturity. And I think it was that immaturity that led to the excessive dancing on the court.

By comparison, you never, ever saw Magic Johnson, Larry Bird or Michael Jordan dance around like that while on the court in the middle of a game. You never saw them disrespect their opponents. Heck, you don't even see Kobe do it, or even Dwayne Wade.

Why? Because they respected/respect the game and their opponents. And most importantly, they took/take the game seriously. They were/are passionate about it. Sure, they tried/try to have fun, but they did/do it without chastising their opponents.

They did/do it respectfully and with dignity.

Lakers Have A Magic-al Opponent

Orlando defeated Cleveland tonight 103-90 in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Finals to eliminate Lebron James and the Cavs from the playoffs. That means the Lakers will have home court advantage in the Finals and will host Game One on Thursday night. For the rest of the Finals schedule, check out Dodger Thoughts' Jon Weisman's post connecting the Lakers and Dodgers schedule correlations.

Kobe, Shaq & P-Jax Reunited

Well, for nostalgia purposes anyway. The Big Three, as Shaq might have once called them, reunited on the same team for a one night only affair tonight, and it was apparently a rousing success! Of course, nothing could possibly top the pre-game Kazaam-like performance by Shaq as he danced, and razzled and dazzled a raucous Phoenix crowd. Shaq, the class clown of the NBA, did not disappoint in entertaining the fans, before, during, and after the game.

So could this all lead to one last hoorah for the Big Three as the Lakers make their run towards their possible 15th NBA title this June? Maybe, maybe not. There's no indication the Lakers are interested in Shaq's services with Andrew Bynum ahead of schedule in his recovery (and rehab?) from a torn MCL in his right knee. But one thing we do know, Kobe and Shaq, like they did for eight years together until five seasons ago, dominated tonight's All-Star Game in Phoenix, where Shaq calls his NBA home these days, and took home the co-MVP honors.

In the end, Kobe finished with a game-high 27 points on 12-23 shooting (very Kobe-like) along with four rebounds, assists and steals apiece. Shaq finished with 17 points and five boards and dominated the middle in his 15th All-Star Game appearance, second most in NBA history. The West All-Stars routed their East counterparts 146-119, blowing the game open in the third quarter. Amare Stoudemire added 19 points, while four others, including the Lakers' Pau Gasol, chimed in with 14 apiece for the West. The East was led by LeBron James' 20 points, with Paul Pierce and Dwayne Wade each adding 18 each.

And while Shaq said he missed the old times the two, or three if you include Phil Jackson, had together, Kobe was particularly ho-hum about it, saying it was fun for the one night while it lasted. It was quite obvious after hearing Kobe talk about it afterwards, even after Shaq had plenty of compliments to pass around about Kobe, labeling him as the best player in the league, that this was, indeed, just a one-night stand.

The Lakers will continue their title quest Tuesday at Staples against Atlanta. And with the trade deadline this Thursday, all eyes are on Phoenix as rumors have been swirling around the league that Shaq and/or Stoudemire could be on the move. Just don't expect Mitch Kupchak and the Lakers to be calling Steve Kerr.

Streak Busters!

This is becoming very routine for this Laker team. On Christmas Day, the Lakers ended the Celtics' 19 game winning streak. Last Thursday, they ended Boston's 12-game win streak. Yesterday, the Lakers upended Cleveland 101-91 to snap the Cavs' home winning streak at 23, including handing them their first home loss of the season. But the story of the game was Lamar Odom stepping up and perhaps playing his best game in his Laker career, pouring in 28 points and grabbing 17 boards. An ailing Kobe Bryant added 19 points despite looking like hell and as if he were going to puke all afternoon. Kobe, suffering from flu-like symptoms all day, actually received an IV before the game and during halftime, and walked off the court with about 12 seconds left in the game to get a head start with treatment in the locker room. Pau Gasol added 18 points and 12 rebounds.

This might have been the Lakers best effort of the season despite being down by 10 points at halftime. The Lakers dominated the second half with tenacious defense and outscoring the Cavs by 20. Cleveland, who had 61 points at the half, had just 30 second half points. Lebron James finished with 16 very quiet points on just 5 of 20 shooting.

Next up for the Lakers, a home game tomorrow night against Oklahoma City, and then a quick stop in Utah for a date with the Jazz Wednesday night before the AS break his weekend.

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New Lakers Adam 'Mustache' Morrison and Shannon Brown practiced with the team today for the first time since being traded to the Lakers Saturday afternoon. Both are expected to be in uniform tomorrow night.

Kobe vs. LeBron

UPDATE (9:45pm CT): Bad finish to even worse start. Lakers fell behind 14-5 early. They kept it close, eventually took a small lead but could never put the Cavs away. Eventually, cold shooting spells, little help from the bench, and bad luck at the end with some questionable decisions offensively did the Lakers in. Final: Cavs 94, Lakers 90. Kobe: 21/5/5; LeBron: 33/10/5. This was the one game I knew would be the toughest on the trip. Final two are in Philly tomorrow and New York on Sunday. I would expect them to come out and play much better than they did tonight.

UPDATE (8:20pm CT): Just as I predicted, good game so far. Lakers take a four-pt 55-51 lead into the locker room at the half... Odom with 14 pts to lead the Lakers; LeBron with 19 to lead the Cavs...

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Game time is approaching! Should be a good one....